BBC hits back after CS Murkomen calls controversial exposé fake

A recent BBC Africa Eye documentary, titled Madams: Exposing Kenya’s Child Sex Trade, has ignited a firestorm of debate in Kenya after exposing an alleged child sex trafficking ring in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County. 

The documentary, aired on August 4, 2025, detailed how undercover journalists infiltrated a trafficking network, revealing disturbing accounts of minors, some as young as 12 or 13, being coerced into prostitution by women known locally as "madams." 

However, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has dismissed the exposé as a "hoax," prompting a sharp rebuttal from the BBC and widespread public uproar.

The Documentary’s Claims

The BBC investigation focused on Mai Mahiu, a transit town along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, identified as a hub for prostitution driven by long-distance truck drivers. 

Undercover reporters posed as aspiring "madams" to gain access to the network, capturing secret recordings of two women who admitted to recruiting and exploiting young girls for profit. 

One woman, identified as "Nyambura," described manipulating minors with sweets or small sums of money, stating, “They’re still children, so it’s easy to manipulate them by just handing them sweets.” 

She also claimed to have a 13-year-old girl in her care who had been working for six months, emphasising the secrecy required to evade authorities. 

The documentary included harrowing testimonies from young girls describing daily sexual abuse and coercion.

The exposé, which the BBC claims was backed by evidence provided to Kenyan authorities in March 2025, sparked national outrage. 

Public figures, including Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika and People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua, condemned the exploitation and called for urgent action to dismantle trafficking networks and protect vulnerable children. 

The National Police Service (NPS) responded on August 6, 2025, announcing the deployment of a multi-agency team, including officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (AHTCPU), to investigate the allegations, rescue affected children, and pursue prosecutions.

Murkomen calls the BBC Documentary a Fabricated

On August 13, 2025, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen addressed the National Assembly in response to questions raised by Gilgil MP Martha Wangari about the government’s actions following the documentary. 

Murkomen dismissed the BBC’s claims, labelling the documentary as "fake" and alleging that the individuals featured were not minors but adults who falsified their ages. 

He claimed that investigations revealed four women, identified as Nemma, Selina, Mary Nyambura, and Njeri, confirmed they were adults engaged in sex work, not underage victims. 

Murkomen further alleged that BBC journalists had approached these women, requesting they identify vulnerable girls aged 17 to 21 for a purported foreign sponsorship program, promising "substantial payments and lifestyle benefits."

Murkomen cited the case of Lucy Njoroge, a former sex worker and peer educator at Karagita Health Centre, who appeared in the documentary. 

He stated that Njoroge, along with four women she housed (aged 19 to 24), had their identities verified, confirming they were not minors. He also claimed that two women depicted as "madams" had relocated to unknown locations after allegedly receiving significant payments from the BBC. 

Murkomen suggested that the documentary was orchestrated to tarnish Kenya’s international reputation.

The CS acknowledged that child exploitation and human trafficking remain challenges in Kenya, particularly along the Northern Corridor, but insisted that the BBC’s specific claims were based on falsified information. 

He noted that 14 witnesses had been interviewed, with no arrests made, but investigations were ongoing, focusing on financial records and call data to trace all parties involved. Murkomen also vowed legal action against the BBC crew for what he described as deceptive reporting.

BBC’s Rebuttal

On August 14, 2025, the BBC issued a statement rejecting Murkomen’s allegations, denying that sources were paid, "pampered," or coached. 

The broadcaster clarified that all survivors interviewed in the documentary were over 18 at the time of filming and were recounting experiences of abuse that occurred when they were underage.

“BBC Africa Eye’s investigation Madams: Exposing Kenya’s Child Sex Trade is an important piece of public interest journalism that documents the exploitation of children in the Kenyan sex trade,” the statement read. 

For clarity, none of the contributors featured in this film were paid, offered payment or ‘coached’ in any way. As clearly stated in the film, the survivors of abuse who were interviewed were all over 18 and recounted experiences of abuse that occurred when they were underage. We are thankful to the survivors for their brave contributions.

The BBC expressed concern over the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) conducting interviews with survivors without legal counsel present, emphasising the bravery of the contributors and the integrity of their reporting.